Download Chapter 1 The Byzantine and Muslim Empires

Mrs. Hansen
Medieval Times
Section 1: Byzantium

Constantinople: Byzantine Capital
 Located on the Bosporus strait
○ Ideal for trade because it connects the Black
Sea and the Sea of Marmara and is an area
where Europe and Asia meet
○ Constantinople became rich from trade and
charging taxes for trade items

History of Constantinople
 First it was part of Greece
Byzantium
 Then part of the Roman Empire

Later Constantine (1st Christian Emperor of
Rome) moved the capitol
 He then renamed it Constantinople meaning the
“City of Constantine”

Now it belongs to the country of Turkey and
is called Istanbul

Rome Splits apart
 The western ½ was overrun by invaders
 The Eastern ½ survived in Byzantium
○ WHY??
 Trade, A strong army who used “Greek Fire” among
other weapons

A great Byzantine emperor = Justinian
 An emperor from a poor background who
married an actress
○ He was a good listener, hard worker, had a
steady temper, but was very stubborn
○ He ruled for many years in part due to
following his wife, Theodora’s, advice in
politics.

The fall of Byzantium
 There was a schism within the church
○ Some people prayed to saints or holy people
represented on icons
○ Others thought people should only pray to God
 The debate reached the leaders of the church
○ The Patriarch in Constantinople
○ The Pope in Rome

The church split
○ The Greek Orthodox in the East
○ The Roman Catholic in the West

After the split in the church
 The Byzantine Empire fell to invasion
supported by the Roman Catholic church

What the Byzantine Empire gave us!?!
 The Code of Justinian
○ Justinian ordered the laws to be organized
and written down
○ This code became the backbone for many
European Legal systems
 The Byzantines wrote down and kept much
of the knowledge of ancient Greece and
Rome safe while western Europe was in a
chaotic state